结冰 (jié bīng) — to freeze, to ice over | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A verb meaning water (or a surface) has frozen into ice — used for lakes, roads, and pipes icing over. Colloquial; the activity-noun form 结冰 is common.

verb

to freezeto ice over

Examples

，结冰。
Dōng tiān dào le, hú miàn kāi shǐ jié bīng.
Winter has arrived, and the lake is starting to freeze.
，。
Shuǐ guǎn zuó wǎn jié le bīng, jīn tiān zǎo shàng méi shuǐ yòng.
The water pipe froze last night, so there was no water this morning.
，。
Zhè tiáo lù dōng tiān jīng cháng jié yí cì bīng, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
This road often freezes over once in winter, so drive carefully.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

“结” means to form and “冰” means ice, together describing the formation of ice.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 結; 结 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

吉

吉jí結jié

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 結 pairs 糸 with 吉; 吉 gives the sound, and 糸 relates to the meaning. The simplified 结 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

冫水冰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冫

仌bīng冰bīng

Same sound today

冰 adds 水 (water) to 冫, the short form of 仌; 冫 gives the sound, and 水 shows the meaning.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.